Advertising-sign.



H. L. TRUBE & w. 3. 030. ADVERTISING SIGN- APPLICATION FILED FEB- 21.1916.

Patented Mar. 12', 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

i ATTORNEY.

H. L. TRUBE & w. 8'. FORD.

ADVERTISING SIGN.

APPLICATION \FIFED FEB- :Il 1916.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918,

2 SHEETS-:SHEET 2.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII F L l W a m a H a 9 i I a A5 3 i -I-// /9\| v i INVENTQRS,

ATTORNEY.

imirnn star Parana oration.

HERBERT L. TRUBE, or MISHAWAKA, INDIANA, Ann WILLIAM s. norm, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO roan-morn COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A oonro- RATION or ILLmoIs.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERBERT L. TRUBE and WILLIAM S. FORD, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at, Mishawaka, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, and Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Advertising-Sign, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in advertising signs, and particularly to that class thereof which include a movable end- .less strip or web upon which appears the advertising orother matter to be exhibited.

The objects and advantages of our invention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of an advertising sign embodying our invention; I Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, the lid being shown in its raised position;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3'-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view, the bottom of the casing being removed;

'Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3; and i Fig. 6 is a detail view hereafter referred to. Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

We have herein illustrated a form ,and construction of casing and web-operating mechanism believed by us to be best adapted for the purposes in view, but it will be understood that the casing as well as the mechanism therein contained maybe Varied in design and construction from that shown and described and'that at present we are merely illustrating and describing what we believe at this time to be the most practical form of apparatus.

With this understanding, and for the purpose of illustrating our invention, we'refer more particularly to the accompanying drawing, wherein, it will be seen, that the casing comprises a front face-plate 1, which, like the remainder of the casing hereinafter described, is preferably formed of stamped sheet-metal. In rear of and secured to the face-plate in any simple manner best adapted. as, for instance, by strips of angle-iron 2, is the box-like receptacle 3, which, as will ADvEnTIsiNG-sICN.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

hereinafter appear, houses the endless web and the parts employed for moving the same. A lid 4, may be hinged, as at 5, to the endwalls of the receptacle-portion of the casing,

' in order that access to the latter may be read longitudinally bya horizontal partition 8,

thus forming upper and lower compartments 9 and-10, respe'ct1 vely, the former being utiendless web and the means for moving the same, and the latter compartment for containing the driving-mechanism, where such Patented Mar. 12, 11918..

Application filed February 21, 1916. Serial No. 79,573.

--lized, in this instance, for containing the is employed. vWe prefer to operate theweb:

operating mechanism by power, as, for instance, an ordinary electric-motor. To this end, therefore, we mount within the lower chamber 10, a conventional form of electricmotor 11, the same deriving its current through the 'usual conductors 12, connected to a socket 13. On the arbor or shaft of the motor may be mounted a pulley 14 (see (1015-. ted lines, Fig. 4,) and such is connected to ed to rotate with a vertical shaft 18, the

latter being ournaled in suitablecross-pieces 19, and extended upwardly through v the partition 8, into the upper compartment 9, where it terminates and is preferably provided with a frictional surface, as. for in stance, a rubber sleeve 20, which sleeve with the shaft constitutes what might. properly be termed a friction feed-roller.

- Secured to the upper-side of the parti tion 8, which partition really constitutes the floor of the compartment 9, is a three-sided partition 21, such comprising opposite rearwardly disposed end-walls 22 and 23, re

spectively, and a longitudinally disposed connecting wall 24. This partition is preferably formed of comparatively light sheetmetal, bent to shape, and the upper edge is horizontally bent and disposed to form a flange 25. This flange performs the function of stiffening the metal.

The end of the flange 25, may be extended beyond the end-wall 22, w1th which it is coincident, and there terminate in an enlarged disk-like head 25*, the same being immediately above and out of contact with the friction feed-roller 20. This disk-like head 25 as will hereinafter appear, serves as an efficient stripper for the feed-roller, which function it will serve by reason of the fact that it is stationary while the roller rotates or revolves. By this combination or arrangement, the natural tendency of the web, especially if the latter is made of very light paper, to follow around the roller and adihere thereto, is obviated entirely.

The longitudinally disposed connectingwall 24 of the partition 21, extends parallel 25 with the face-plate 1, which latter, at apoint opposite said upper compartment 9, is providd with a longitudinally disposed sightopening 26. Between the face-plate and the connecting-wall of the partition 21, and held by any suitable means, may be located a transparent panel or pane 27 so that, as will be obvious, a web bearing any adverrising-matter, printed or otherwise applied thereto, and passed through the space 28, formed by the said panel and the connecting-wall 24 of the partition, will be plainly visible from without. The illuminating means may be located at any point desired with relation to the apparatus and so as to show up the advertising matter to the best advantage as it is brought into view.

A spring-pressed roll 29, is maintained in contact with the friction-roll 20. Any desired means may be employed for this purpose, but we prefer that shown, wherein the roll is journaled in the opposite ends of a vertically disposed yoke 30, carried at the free end of a reversely bent spring'31, one end of the spring being secured to the endwall of the compartment 9, and the opposite end of which, after being reversely bent, as at 32, may be under ad ustable tension by means of an adjustable screw 33, threaded in the wall of the said compartment. This completes the enumeration and description of the parts that may be located in the feedside of the upper compartment 9, with the exception of an idle guide-roll 34, or its equivalent, which is mounted on a vertical stub-shaft 35, located beyond the dischargeend of the websreceiving space or passage 28, and designed to smoothly guide the web as it emerges from the passage to the said rolls 20 and 29.

In order to guide the web safelygposi- Laeaeao tively, and with as little friction as possible about the opposite end or corner of the partition 21, and into the web-receiving passage 28, devices are located at the end of the partition at its end-wall 21 and between it and the receiving-end of the web-passage. Such devices may vary in form and design from those herein shown, but we have found that the latter will serve the purpose and cause the thin Web of paper 'to approach and enter the receiving-end of the web-passage in a perfectly smooth and even condition; hence, we prefer to employ them. We flare the receiving-end of the web-passage, by connecting to the end-Wall 23, where it merges into the longitudinal wall 24 of the partition, a curved guide-plate 36, the disposition of the plate being toward the adjacent end of the casing and rearward, and therefore, of substantially quadrant-shape. To reduce friction and avoid any sharp edges that might cause wear, the free end of the plate 36 may be bent or folded upon itself, as at 37. -Beyond the curved guideplate, overlapping the same, and attached to the side of the casing, is acombined tension and smoothing-device. That is to say,

a device that will give a light tension to the web and which will also tend to smooth out V the same. In practice, we have found that a bristle-brush, as 38 serves this purpose, the bristles of the brush being disposed in the direction of travel of the-web. Beyond the rearwardly disposed end 23 of the partition,

aforesaid plate, and so as to assist the brush in smoothing out any folds or wrinldesfwe may also use and employ between the roller 40 and the curved guide-plate, a vertically disposed friction-device, in this instance, a curved rib 42. This friction-device, which may be in other form than that shown, if desired, it will be observed is out of alincment with the periphery .-of the roller 40 and the free edge of the apron 36, so that the-webs course between these two points is somewhat tortuous.

Tn the form of apparatus we have described and illustrated, the web, which we,

have indicated as A, and shown in positionby heavy dotted lines in Fig. 3, may be of and preferably is of thin paper of sullicient stifl'ness to assure it being self supporting; that is to say, remaining on edge and capable of freely gliding over the floor- 8 of the storage-chamber. This not only results in cheapness, but securesthe more important result of increasing the length of web capable of being stored within the web-storage chamber formed by the three walls of the partition and the rear Wall of the casing, whereby the apparatus itself may be made compact and relatively small as compared to the length of Web which it cares for. The web, it will be; understood, is stored within the web-storage chamber in loose layers 0i folds and in a somewhat zig-zag form, and. being endless, it is fed 01' stuffed by the rollers 20 and 29 into the chamber in this manner, being stripped therefrom by the stripper 25 As will be seen, the feeding or stuffing of the web into the web-storage chamber will also serve to draw the web from the opposite end of the chamber, so that the same is caused to follow the Webpassage and as it passes the transparent panel whatever advertising matter is carried thereby will be observable through said panel. In this manner, and with a comparatively small apparatus, very long advertisements may be successfully exhibited. The web, it will be observed, as it is stuffed orfed into the feed end of the web-storage chamber and drawn from the discharge end thereof, glides lightly on edge over the smooth unbroken floor 8 of the chamber, so

i that, it can never get out of alinement, and

hence, devices for obviating such are'unnecessary. I That is to say, the-Web is selfsupporting and self-guiding, when thus mounted on edge. l

From the feregoing'it will be seen that the advertisement bearing web may be made of a lehgth only limited by the capacity of the storage-chamber of the apparatus, and that only that portion thereof being e khibited at the moment is under tension between the tensioirdeviees, the residue being stored,

as described, in the storage-chamber and continuouslyshifting its -'p o's ition as it con- .tinur'imsli" approaches the exit thereof'by bei'hg witlidrawn from the opposite end. During all-of such dimiithe stored portion of the web, as well as that comparatively small portion being exhibited, glides on its lower edge over thesmoothunbroken surface of the horizontal partition tor floor 8 of the storage-chamber.

Having described our invention, what we claim. is: i I

1. In an" advertising apparatus, a casing having a sight-opening, guides located at the o 'iposite ends of said opening, and an adjacent storage-chamber having an inlet and an outlet opening adjacent saidguides, and a transverse floor, in combination with a uniformly and continuously flexible endless web of greater length than double the distance between said guides and mounted upon the same so as to be supported thereby immediately in rear of said sight-opening, said web being of suflicient stiffness whereby its surplus portion will stand on edge and unaided upon and is free to glide over the floor of said storage-chamber and to fold in within the casing provided with an inlet and an outlet opening and with a horizontal floor, an endless and uniformly continuously flexible web exceedingin length double the distance between ends of the web-guiding passage, said web being of sufficient stiffness whereby its surplus portion will stand on edge and unaided uponand is free to glide over the floor of said storage-chamber and to fold in irregular vertically disposed layers within the latter, a pair of rolls operating in frictional contact and vertically mounted in the feed-opening of said storage-chamber and adapted to feed said web therein and to simultaneously withdraw said web from the discharge opening of said chamber, and a stripping means for guiding said web from said feed-rolls after the web has passed between them and into the chamber. i

3. In an advertising apparatus, the combination with a casing having one of its walls provided with a sight-opening, of a partition arranged in the casing and combining with that wall of the casing having the sight-opening to form a web-receiving passage and with the opposite wall of the casing to form a web-storage chamber; one

. end of the partition being rearwardly disposed and terminating short of the rear wall of the casing to form a feed-opening for the hamber, said chamber provided at the oppositerside with a disel 1arge-opening,said partition, at its end, being bent and rounded to form a stripper at one side of said feed-opening, opposite spaced apart webguidingmeans adjacent the Web-receiving passage, means located-in the feed-opening of the chamber for feeding a web into the chamber and withdrawing it therefrom, and a uniformly and continuously flexible endless web mounted in thewebreceiving passage and about the web-guides and of greater length: than the distance between the same and having its surplus portion stored in irregular folds and stand ing on edge within the chamber and free to glide over the floor of the same.

4. In an advertising apparatus, the combinationwith a casing having one of its walls provided with a sight-opening, of a partition within the casing and spaced from the wall having the sight-opening to form a means, a curved guide-plate extending from the receiving-end of the web-passage and into the space at one side of the. partition, a

combined smoothing and tension-device overlapping said guide-plate, a web-guide at the'opposite end of the passage, and a uniformly and continuously flexible endless web of greater length than double the distance between said guide-plate and guide and mounted in the receiving-passage, said web being of suilicient stillness to stand unaided and having its surplus portion stored within the chamber and standing vertically on edge and in irregular layers and free to glide over the bottom of the same.

5. In an advertising apparatus, the combination with a casing having one ofits Walls provided with a sight-opening, of a partition arranged in the casing and spaced from the wall thereof having the sight- .opening to form a web-receiving passage, and at its ends rearwardly bent to form ex ternal spaces and feed and discharge-openings for a chamber in rear of the passage, web-feeding means located in the feed-opening, web-guiding means located in the discharge-opening, means for operating the feeding-means, a curved guide-plate extend ing from the receiving-end of the web-passage and into the space beyond the partition, a flat bristle brush located insaid space and overlapping the curved guide-plate, aguide at the opposite end of the web-passage, and a uniformly and continuously flexible endless web in the passage and about said guide-plate and guides and of greater length than the distance between the same, said web being of suliicient stiffness to stand vertically. unaided and having its surplus Witnesses: 1

portion standing on edge and in irregular layers and stored in the chamber and free to glide over-the bottom of the same.

6. In an advertising apparatus, the combination with a casing having one of its walls provided with a sight-opening, of a partition arranged in the casing and spaced from and combining with that wall thereof having the sight-opening to form a web-receiving passage, the ends of the partition being rearwardly disposed and combining with the remaining walls of the casing to produce opposite'external end spaces and an intermediate storage-chamber having feed and discharge-openings, a web-feeding and drawing means located in the feed-opening, webguiding means located in the discharge-opening, means for operating the web-feeding and drawing-means, a flat horizontal smooth surface forming the bottom of the casing, opposite guides at the ends of the web-re ceiving passage, one of said guides being a curved guide-plate extending from the. receiving end of said passage and into the space beyond the partition and substantially in alinement with the web discharging means, a combined smoothing and tensionde'vice overlapping the said curved guideplate, a tension-device intermediate the curved guide-plate and the web-discharging means and out of alinement therewith, and a uniformly and continuously flexible endless web mounted for movement in the webreceiving passage and exceeding in length the distance between the guides of the pas- .sage, the surplus of said web being stored on edge in irregular folds in the chamber and free to glide over the bottom thereof. lln testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

I HERBERT L. TRUBE.

Witnesses:

W. C YENsnR,

L. Era-MAN. I

' WILLIAM S. FORD.

S,;DUVALL, E. EL1LIS. 

